Flooding in Upper Midwest

[billbtrain]

Ted,

New Orleans hit me more personally than the floods here as I went to high school there in the 1970's and had occasions to go all over that city.I went to O.P.Walker High School on the West Bank.I always think about the things I had seen and done,the food,and the friends I had back then.And OH! What trains and facilities I saw!! The last time I was in New Orleans was in 1986.In 1985 I had gone to New Orleans by plane to attend my grandfather's funeral in Mississippi and then left by Amtrak's Southern Cresent afterward.

Sad that all that has changed and the crime rate is so high that I can never share any of that with my sons.

Have a good one.

Bill B 

[Kevin C. Smith]

http://www.burlingtonderailed.com/index.php?blogid=1&archive=2008-6-20

It looks like no Zephyr through Burlington (IA) for a while.

The above has photos of a washout on the BNSF just east of Burlington.  

Oh, the poor Amtrak depot. I've been going through Burlington several times over the years but never stopped over until a couple of months ago so I could never check out the depot before. While mostly (seemingly) closed and unused, it was really quite nice. Now, I wonder how long it will take to clean up. Does anyone know if it was it flooded like this in '93?

Strange to look at my vacation photos of what was "high water" in May and see the same places now.

[blhanel]

Brian,

Any word on the UP bridge by Quaker Oats? I would imagine it has sustained a bit of damage after reading about it 'bowing' from the weight of the water and houseboats.I seriously doubt any bridge can move laterally by very much without being shifted off it's footings.

My son,Will,and I went on a roundabout tour of CR Wednesday.Hwy 13 from Marion to 30 to C st SW to the Prairie Creek power station.We ended up going to the trail head on Ely Road and walked from there to the bridge over the UP(we forgot our bikes,but it was good exercise).When we left there we went to Beverly yard and back to Marion through downtown CR.All very overwhelming and sad.

Have a good one.

Bill 

Hey Bill, where ya been lately?  You still working in Menards?  I keep checking the screens in there for your name when I go in, but no luck.

What did the C St. SW area look like?  I took a quick look Thursday, but stayed up on C St. south of the power plant, and couldn't eyeball the bridge.  I haven't heard anything on the UP bridge at Quaker, but there must be serious damage to it as they haven't made any attempt to remove the railcars off of it yet.  It looked like they were trying to remove the houseboad debris from the west end the other day, but weren't entirely successful.

[billbtrain]

Hello Brian

I'm working at WalMart in Marion now.I've been there for just over a year.I work 4:30pm to 10:00pm 5 days a week with 2 weekdays off.I'm also working fulltime at CCB Packaging in Hiawatha.We recently moved into a different house as ours was foreclosed on.It's been quite hecktick the last few months.

The UP bridge over the Cedar River looks to be in good shape from what I could see.They had the trail bridge over the mains taped off so you couldn't go on it(I could have passed through the tape,but figured why risk trouble).We saw that GREX had their conveyer trains down in that area(at least 3 sets),one was on the CR line at Cole St.,which is mostly torn up because of all the heavy equipment being transported.Cole st crossing has been torn out and one of the gates was missing.We didn't get too close because of all the activity.Otis Rd was closed just before the Indian Creek nature center because of high water.We saw a rock train along Otis Rd with 2 UP units and a bunch of airdump cars.I'm not sure where they dumped that.Some of those rocks were the size of the cab of my pickup!The signals by the ponds on Otis were turned inward as were the signals for the crossovers out by Bertram(viewed from Hwy 13).Trains were running Wednesday as we saw 3 eastbounds and heard 2 others.

Have a good one.

Bill B 

[blhanel]

I'm working at WalMart in Marion now.I've been there for just over a year.I work 4:30pm to 10:00pm 5 days a week with 2 weekdays off.I'm also working fulltime at CCB Packaging in Hiawatha.We recently moved into a different house as ours was foreclosed on.It's been quite hecktick the last few months.

Holy cow- I would say so!  Two jobs?  Don't burn yourself out.

 

The UP bridge over the Cedar River looks to be in good shape from what I could see.They had the trail bridge over the mains taped off so you couldn't go on it(I could have passed through the tape,but figured why risk trouble).We saw that GREX had their conveyer trains down in that area(at least 3 sets),one was on the CR line at Cole St.,which is mostly torn up because of all the heavy equipment being transported.Cole st crossing has been torn out and one of the gates was missing.We didn't get too close because of all the activity.Otis Rd was closed just before the Indian Creek nature center because of high water.We saw a rock train along Otis Rd with 2 UP units and a bunch of airdump cars.I'm not sure where they dumped that.Some of those rocks were the size of the cab of my pickup!The signals by the ponds on Otis were turned inward as were the signals for the crossovers out by Bertram(viewed from Hwy 13).Trains were running Wednesday as we saw 3 eastbounds and heard 2 others.

Were those MOW trains parked on Track 2?  Someone else posted that only Track 1 was in service- there must've been a bad washout somewhere thru there to require that kind of ballast.

[billbtrain]

When we saw the GREX sets they were on track 1(north track).The UP was shoving 2 sets on one train with 2 SD70M's and a SD60M past C st SW.The conveyer units were facing west.The 3rd set was sitting on the CR line at Cole st facing east.All regular train movements were on track 2.The Rock train with the air dump cars was on track 1 facing east with 2 GE units.

Have a good one.

Bill B 

[Soo 6604]

CP Rail detours still happening over the CN thru Wisconsin. So far, ive only seen 1 northbounder each day

Paul

[zardoz]

CP Rail detours still happening over the CN thru Wisconsin. So far, ive only seen 1 northbounder each day

Paul

I must have missed them somehow.  I was in the Medina area Saturday between 10am and 3pm and all I saw was one southbound (and it was a CN train).

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

CP detours also still hot and heavy on the ICE between La Crescent and Pingree Grove.  Hope to be lucky enough to catch some when I go back to my hometown in Iowa Friday evening or on the way back up on Sunday.

[Soo 6604]

CP Rail detours still happening over the CN thru Wisconsin. So far, ive only seen 1 northbounder each day

Paul

I must have missed them somehow.  I was in the Medina area Saturday between 10am and 3pm and all I saw was one southbound (and it was a CN train).

I didnt hear one on saturday, but that doesnt mean one didnt go thru. Saturday on the CN line was very dead.

Todays CP detour went thru Neenah around 9ish

Yesturdays went thru Neenah around 9ish once again. That seems like the norm that they are around the area. Somebody told me that its the CP 287 train that is detouring

On an interesting note, a CP coke train that usually routes from the south, came down from the Point area without swapping units. it consisted of CP 8578, CP 5970 and SOO 6023 with 79 loads of coke for Manitowoc.

Paul

[SchemerBob]

Saw an IC&E freight heading east through Ottumwa today, so the flooding by the RRX must have lifted. Now if Burlington could get back to normal, the BNSF Ottumwa Sub should be in business again...

[solzrules]

Stopped by Duplainville yesterday and just west of the intersection there are cars parked on the mainline and RUST on the railheads.  Never thought I'd see it. 

A short time later I saw a CN train role through the diamond heading south with one CN AC4400 and one CP AC4400 in the consist.  That also looked a little off.  Hard to believe these two railroads are working together, seeing as they hate each other. 

[Los Angeles Rams Guy]

Sounds like the ICE's mainline between Davenport and Kansas City is under siege as the bridge over the Iowa River at Columbus Jct. collapsed; sending the engineer and conductor to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.  From the KWWL (Waterloo) website:

 http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=8551580

[blhanel]

 http://www.kwwl.com/Global/story.asp?S=8551580

Fixed link-

EDIT:  Dave Kroeger posted on the Yahoo IC&E list that "This is NOT the mainline bridge east of Columbus Jct, this is the bridge that gains access to the Tyson Foods Plants on the north side of CJ, which is part of the old BCR&N."

[cpprfld]

Stopped by Duplainville yesterday and just west of the intersection there are cars parked on the mainline and RUST on the railheads.  Never thought I'd see it. 

A short time later I saw a CN train role through the diamond heading south with one CN AC4400 and one CP AC4400 in the consist.  That also looked a little off.  Hard to believe these two railroads are working together, seeing as they hate each other. 

Any idea when CP will open the Duplainville route?

[Anonymous]

Brian,

Any word on the UP bridge by Quaker Oats? I would imagine it has sustained a bit of damage after reading about it 'bowing' from the weight of the water and houseboats.I seriously doubt any bridge can move laterally by very much without being shifted off it's footings.

My son,Will,and I went on a roundabout tour of CR Wednesday.Hwy 13 from Marion to 30 to C st SW to the Prairie Creek power station.We ended up going to the trail head on Ely Road and walked from there to the bridge over the UP(we forgot our bikes,but it was good exercise).When we left there we went to Beverly yard and back to Marion through downtown CR.All very overwhelming and sad.

Have a good one.

Bill 

I've heard the conditions in Cedar Rapids compared to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina... I can't imagine what that must be like but I will admit that I did shed some tears watching the news reports. The suffering those people must be going through is unfathomable; I wish I could do something to help someone there get their lives back to normal. Unfortunately, normal as we know it won't be returning to Cedar Rapids any time soon, I'm afraid.

The clean-up will take months, repairs and rebuilding will take years. Reports indicate that many residents say that they will be moving further away from the river in search of higher ground to relocate to and that many neighborhoods will likely become 'ghost towns'.

My heart really goes out to all those affected.

 

I lived in Windsor On The River apartments in Cedar Rapids for 3 years and I used to take Ellis Rd. into work almost every weekday.  My friend in Cedar Rapids e-mailed me photos of that general area and it was horrible to see.  The restaurant I used to frequent there along the river that had the aquariums in the dining room has been destroyed.  All the houses along Ellis Rd and 1st St. were ruined, and piles of refuse piled 6' high on the curb.  I've thought of driving down there with my shovels and boots and work clothes to find someone I could help, but a few days of work by one person would be virtually futile.  Instead I figured that's where my checkbook can do more good.

Now - I haven't followed this entire thread.  Is there any speculation as to whether or not they'll try to dredge-up those rock cars the CRANDIC lost in the river?

[blhanel]

Nothing on the local news about that particular subject yet- they're concentrating on the residential losses.  They just announced this morning that of the 3800-some residences affected, nearly 2000 will most likely need to be bulldozed.

I hope to get downtown sometime in the next few days to get some more railroad-related photos- the CRANDIC bridge site is one of my primary objectives.

[CShaveRR]

Brian, I get the feeling that Beverly Yard is still out of service.  We're making up a "Beverly" block again, but it looks mostly like cars for Clinton (which went to Beverly pre-flood), while the cars for Beverly are being routed beyond, to either Marshalltown or Des Moines.

[blhanel]

That doesn't surprise me, as nearly all of the big railroad users are downtown and were flooded (Quaker, Penford, Cargill, Alliant, National Oats), thus they're still without power and cleaning up.

[CShaveRR]

Your mention of Alliant reminded me--we sent a couple of WISX dump cars your way (Wisconsin Power and Light is now part of Alliant).  They're normally used for fly ash, but in this case, who knows?

[Extiger]

Good article from the Burlington paper about Corman's preparation for repairing the BNSF line.  Considerable damage on the Illinois side.  http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/flood-railroad-062608

 

[blhanel]

I took a quick tour of the Cedar Rapids flood zone during lunch, and got some great photos of the mangled CRANDIC bridge to share.  Need to get home to convert them from RAW first, though.  Other observations: CNIC now has railcars parked in their yard, so it looks like they're ready to resume normal operations; the soybeans from the busted Cargill elevator are all cleaned up, and they're working on clearing some other scrap and fixing the tracks at that location; coal hoppers are positioned at the Sixth St. power plant next door, so maybe Alliant might have that up and running soon; hi-railers were running back and forth on both tracks across the UP bridge near Quaker, clearing debris, although there's still alot of it piled on the upstream side of the bridge; UP appears to have both mains up and running on the transcon, although I didn't see anything moving or otherwise during my brief visit down there.

Downtown is still a major mess, although progress is being made in getting power restored based on the low number of inoperative traffic lights that are left.

[solzrules]

Stopped by Duplainville yesterday and just west of the intersection there are cars parked on the mainline and RUST on the railheads.  Never thought I'd see it. 

A short time later I saw a CN train role through the diamond heading south with one CN AC4400 and one CP AC4400 in the consist.  That also looked a little off.  Hard to believe these two railroads are working together, seeing as they hate each other. 

Any idea when CP will open the Duplainville route?

Not sure.  When it was at its worst, the Reesville marsh had nearly 50 inches of water over the railheads.  I could hardly believe that, and then I saw pictures of it.  Based on the trains news wire, it sounds as if it will be a week if not two.  That would mean the railroad shut down for nearly a month.  I wonder if CP will attempt any grade elevations after this.  From what I've read, the Milwaukee tried to raise the line through that area ever since it was built and they've had problems there right up until the Soo Line bought it.  There was even talk that some folk thought the track was semi-floating through the marsh.   

[blhanel]

As promised above, here are shots of the CRANDIC bridge that I got during lunch today:

The approach from the east has alot of sediment left on it, but I don't think they'll worry about that for awhile-

A quick shot of the UP bridge near Quaker:

UP's transcon at the C Street SW crossing, just west of the Cedar River:

Pretty well fixed back up.  Lots of extra contract help was working in the Prairie Creek power plant just off to the right of this shot, though.

[CNW 6000]

IC 6204 derailed:

[SchemerBob]

Just read on the wire today that BNSF re-opened the Ottumwa Subdivision. Finally, after more than half a month of being closed.

[The Butler]

Iowa DOT has a web site showing pictures of flood damage including RRs.

http://iowadot.gov/floods/2008gallery.html 

[blhanel]

Iowa DOT has a web site showing pictures of food damage including RRs.

http://iowadot.gov/floods/2008gallery.html

Fixed link.

[billbtrain]

Brian,

  Good photos of the damage.Has there been any word as to when they will get that cleaned up and if they plan on replacing the bridge?What's the status of the UP bridge at Quaker?

Have a good one.

Bill B

[blhanel]

Hey Bill,

I haven't been downtown at all since a week ago Monday, so I don't know if they're working on cleaning up the CRANDIC bridge yet or not, and I haven't heard anything about it from anywhere either.  Nothing on CRANDIC's Yahoo list as well.  As far as the UP bridge near Quaker is concerned, I believe it's probably back in service, as they were cleaning up the debris on the deck with hi-rail trucks a week ago.